Þiðbandið
Þiðbandið is one of the oldest countries on the continent. The country is mostly placed on the Þið peninsular in the very south of the continent, being surrounded on its western side by the Gulf of Huria (underwhich a tunnel links to Litholmland), whilst the eastern side is surrounded by the Márkus Sea, seperating Ishtaristan from the rest of the continent. In the north is Fontu Bay, which seperates Jabia from the pensiular. There is a small isthmus that links the pensinular to the rest of the continent, and thereforward there is a coastal region that potrudes Þiðbandið territory into the centre of the continent, linking the German speaking comunities in the Jabia Channel area to the rest of the country. In the middle of Jabia Bay is the island of Wu, which is an outlying, but integral Þiðbandið province. From the capital, Tizþür, there is a highspeed rail and motorway that runs straight through the east of the country, across Fontu Bay, through Jabia, and across the Eyjar Channel linking Vugrawa (formally the colony of West Eyjar) to the rest of the continent. __TOC__ History Early Days Being the first country in the continent to begin exploration and enlightenment, the knowlege of the outside world was limited for much of the time. Originating with the Þið tribe of Neapiri in the far south of the country in present day Rizðij, the tribe, led by Tomś Tizþür eventually united the Þið pensinsular to create the country of Þiðbandið, a constitutional monarchy. Later moving to Tizþür, named in his honour, which became the new capital the nation emerged as one of the strongest at the time, eventually populating the fertile area around the Sjü river in the south west. Whilst the Šake tribe and native Magyars of Márkusland kept their identity, the country prospered under peace and respect, eventually beginning to explore the areas around. North of the isthmus of Fontü was the powerful nation of Jabia, linking the Þið peninsular with the rest of Neapiri. To the north of Jabia in the Jabia Bay is the island of Wü, discovered by Ritjŕd Wü and claimed for the nation. The Green War In this period, the Green War took place with Alkami invading the nation of JLS around the Jabia Channel area, taking hold of the city of Silksy (renaming it Soricay - present day Nord Platz), with JLS retaliating by occupying Selteral (renaming it Hamilton - present day Hauptlig). The war was finally resolved with the help of Þiðbandið, Jabia and Ishtaristan. As punishment for Alkami's wave of destruction, previous borders were retained, but with the port of Hurija (Vorx) being occupied by Ishtaristan. Colonialisation After the Green War, Þiðbandið embarked on a mission to colonise land to the north, finding the land of New Europa (modern day Wissland), which was claimed and populated by Þiðs. In this period, the kingdom of Norðr Eyjar was violently overthrown in a coup d'etat, and amid the full scale warfare on the island, the nations of Þiðbandið and Ishtaristan invaded the island to solve the problems, dividing the island between them, with the western half, renamed Ejjâ. Morcambe Island was then populated by evaucating Norðr Eyjars, whilst the rest who wished to resettle elsewhere went on a search in the west of the continent for new land. In this period, the nation of Jabia was united in a dual-monarchy with Þiðbandið, establishing a free trade zone between the nations, and opening the borders. This led to the Eyjar Bridge being completed, linking Ejjâ with the rest of Neapiri, whilst as a reward for helping Ishtaristan develop the port of Hurija, they were jointly given the suburbs of the Hurija colony, named Vorx. It was in this period that the first circumnavigation of Neapiri was made by Adḿ Þôp, discovering the country of Esvanburgo. After the discovery of wild land in the north, togther with Jabia, Þiðbandið undertook a mission to colonise the north central of the continent, around the Thorpe Bay, named after navigator. This area was later colonised as Great Rydale, stretching from the Ghart Mountains north to the sea. As thanks for help, Jabia was given control of New Europa, with Þiðbandið focussing on Great Rydale. End of the Þiðbandið-Jabia Union After several years of the union of Þiðbandið and Jabia, a conflict of interest arose, with seperation movements throughout the union. After a referendum in each district, the colonies of New Europa and Great Rydale were formally split, with the new border reflecting the wishes of the areas. This was also the case in the Jabia Channel, where Þiðs had inhabited during the union, essentially creating a suburb of Neebaj, the capital of Jabia, and was awarded to Þiðbandið after the split as a result of a referendum. However as Vorx had been given to Þiðbandið and Jabia jointly, it continued to be operated as a condominium. The Þiðbandið influence in this area also was benefited by the influence of the Þið population on the south coast of Jabia, who voted to create a link between Vorx and Þiðbandið. After Þiðbandið split with Jabia, and the independence of Great Rydale as Great Phinox, its influence dwindled, and so the government ordered a search for remote, unpopulated islands to be designated as territories and operate as air bases to keep peace in the continent. Four territories were found - St. Thomas Islands, in the north east of the Neapiri Sea, Neapiri Islands in the south Neapiri Sea, Ordell Island off the coast of Hexelbourg, and Nortmoar off the coast of Marcal Bay. In this period the Norðr Eyjars inhabited the area now known as Kimmystan, and JLS disintigrated. Jabia took control of the western half of JLS, whilst the east was given to Kimmystan and Esvanburgo as a mandate until the region stabilised. Þiðbandið played a role in this era, as the island of Wü was located very close to the region, and Wü was used as an airbase. German Influence When the government of Eigerland was overthrown in a revolution and replaced by the Kimmystan backed Fishy and Hoijahway, the German speaking population was expelled and forced to relocate. Under the terms of the peace treaty for recognisation of the new nations, Þiðbandið and Jabia were awarded the easternmost areas of former Eigerland, in return for Morcambe Island to be ceded to Kimmystan as Isle of Kim (now Joikaland), and allowing the native German population who were expelled to move to the new territory - with the majority moving to Þiðbandið. With Vorx also wishing to make closer ties with Þiðbandið, Jabia withdrew its claims over the area, and the new province of Deutsch Löwenwald was founded in the area, and became the most heavily populated province in the area. The province was predominantely German speaking and with it, the German language was formally adopted as co-offical with Þiðbandish. At this time, Eyjar became much more peaceful and was reunited with the Ishtaristani side to create the new nation of Vugrawa, despite the recent motorway linking Tizþür with the colony only being a matter of months old. With more Germans populating the area, and the relaxed attitude of Jabia, more Jabia land was given to Þiðbandið to home the Germans, and eventually the whole of north Þiðbandið, north of the isthmus became predominately German speaking, with cities being renamed. With Hurija finally being given to Þiðbandið, the Hurija/Vorx conurbation went from being split between five territories to just two (Huria, the southernmost part of the area remaining capital of Rulania), being mostly part of Þiðbandið. Modern Era In the final wave of decolonisation, the St. Thomas Islands were given to Esvanburgo, the Neapiri Islands were given to Congiana and Nortmoar was given to Marcal Bay. Ordell Island had been due to be given to Litholmland, but the Great Storm flooded the island and it was decided to let the island wash into the sea. With the importance of infrastructure becoming aparent, and the success of the Tizþür to Eyjar motorway and Eyjar Bridge, the Þiðbandið government invested in an undersea tunnel linking Sjübej with Litholmland, cutting down the journey times to the country significantly, as well as creating canals to create links between the Jabia Channel and the Vorx Estuary, as well as through the Fontu Isthmus. Later on, as more trade moved across the Vorx Estuary, a tunnel was built to link Vorx Bay with Vorchshafen. This was built at the same time as the dredging around the Fontü Isthmus, which expanded the connection possibilities, provided more land for construction, and prevented the area from becoming submerged, splitting the nation from the rest of the continent, something feared after the sumerging of Ordell Island, and was another reason for the Tizþür Dam's construction linking the Pimbot Islands on both sides to the mainland In the contest The country is one of the most successful nations in the contest, having reached the top three 31 times. Having been the longest competitor, and the only one to have entered every edition since the very first, the country leads the way with 98 songs throughout the history, which has contributed to the country recieving the highest number of points amongst any country, as well as the seventh best average score. Songs Hostings Þiðbandið has hosted the contest nine times. ^Hosted by CTR of Congiana due to inabilities to host. Þiðbandið also hoted many editions for other nations due to inabilities.